It's official! The business that Paul and J started is finally off the ground. Today actually marks 2 weeks since they started working. I am so proud of them! We named the company August Chapman Group after many days of discussing. We made a list of our top 20 names and then we narrowed them down 1 on 1 like a sports bracket. When it came to the final 3, we decided to combine 2 of them. What do you think of the name?

Hold your breath and JUMP!!

So Paul finally quit his job last week to prepare to start his new business in the next couple of weeks. This makes me feel SOOOOOO nervous, but mostly excited for them! J also put in his 2 weeks notice last week. T still hasn't found a job, but we'll figure out how to make it all work. She has been putting in applications like crazy and I know it's just a matter of time!

On Saturday, the boys spent the whole day building a desk and installing recessed lighting in our garage. It's quite the man-cave now. We got a nice air-conditioner in there and T and I put down a big rug and hung some curtains to soften it up a bit. It is going to be really nice when they are all done. I promise to post some pictures soon, but I am having technical difficulties with the software for my NEW CAMERA!! That's right! I got a new camera. Paul bought it on Craig's list. It's a Canon Rebel and he is certain that it will have the power to make my photos look good. I am so excited and have taken lots of pictures, but I didn't install the software right and I am not sure what I did wrong, but it looks like it might be a week or two before I figure it out!

Hope, work, and unexpected blessings!

It really cracks me up to read through some of my old posts and remember how I felt when I wrote them. So many little things happen over the course of weeks and months that change my way of thinking.
It's a little complicated, but I think (and hope) you can keep up.
We had to move because of our getting a puppy. I was really upset about it. We hadn't found a suitable place and our dog was initially a lot of work. Well, about a week after I posted, we found a house that was just perfect for us. It is on a wooded lot in a quiet cul-de-sac. It has a big old backyard that is perfect for Ellie and the dog. It is just the right size for us and very comfy. The rent was quite reasonable and I just LOVE my new landlady.
I started to get excited.
Our friends, J&T, came to visit from out of state and we showed them our new house. They loved it. They loved it so much that they started thinking about moving to Charleston too. That's not my story to tell, but I mention it because it relates directly to my story. One thing led to another and J, the husband, found a much better job here and we invited him to stay with us so he could start right away. Meanwhile, my sister, who was going to move in with us, experienced an insanely fast whirlwind romance that led her to quit her job and move to Baltimore just after we moved in. Suddenly we had Paul's best friend living with us and my sister was gone. It was an adjustment for me. A tough adjustment. But, I coped.
A few weeks later, J's wife, T, joined him at our house and they started looking for a place of their own.
Then, this past weekend, a little talking about jobs and the future led to a bold decision. Our husbands don't want to stay at their current jobs. They want to create a better future for our families. They want to go into business for themselves. This made me nervous. We tried it before and it didn't work out. I felt doubt. I felt fear. But then...I felt fine with it. I was completely elated about it. I was feeling hope for our financial future for the first time in a long time. Now, I can actually see a light at the end of our paycheck to paycheck, double-income tunnel!
So we are all going to start sacrificing for this hope. We can't just have our husbands quit their jobs, but if T and I continue to work full-time and we all stay living together, we can make it work until they get their business up and running. So...wish us luck!

Oh...and on a sidenote, I am glad I said yes to that puppy after all. What a strange series of events!

Puppy Trials

We got a dog. My life has ended. Okay...so I have a bit of a flair for the dramatic, but really this puppy has taken over my life! If I could rewind my life about a month, I would have just said "no", but for some reason, I decided to say "yes". The whole "Yes Man" theory is a pile of dogpoo. And I have seen some piles lately...all over my rugs!!

Our friends started it...We met them for a weekend and they had the sister-puppy and she was so cute and sleepy at 7 1/2 weeks old. They started showing us pictures of the siblings and Paul and I started considering it. Ellie's birthday was coming up and she's been BEGGING forever for a puppy (well all kids do that...). We thought it would be great for her to have a companion for the summer. Paul just wanted another boy in the family. blah blah blah.

• puppies are expensive




• puppies pee all the time...anywhere




• puppies have sharp little teeth and claws




• puppies cry at night




• puppies double in size within 3 weeks




• 11/12 year-old girls don't like puppy-sitting




• puppies don't like baths




• puppies like to bark




• puppies will always like your husband better than you

But none of those truths are the real problem. The problem is that we didn't check with our Apartment owner 1st. The problem is we made an emotional decision and we had to get him BEFORE someone else took OUR puppy. The problem is we are obviously insane. Our apartment is owned by someone else so even though there are TONS of dogs at our complex, our dog isn't welcome and so it was "Get rid of the dog or move". Simple. We should get rid of the dog, right? Wrong. We just didn't have the heart. Ellie was so excited and Walter was so cute! He was already crate-trained and we just spent $200 on food, toys, etc. So we are moving. Again. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. I am whining now. If you don't want to read the next paragraph, I totally understand (of course, if you've made it this far, you probably noticed that this whole post is whining).

My moving...since college (12 years)

1. Christiansburg, VA to Lake Worth, Florida (for a summer job selling pest control)

2. Lake Worth Apt to different Lake Worth Apt...I forget why now...

3. Lake Worth, FL to Bridgewater, VA (to finish college, got sick, didn't finish)

4. Bridgewater, VA to Buena Vista, VA (for ex to finish college, he did)

5. Buena Vista, VA to Roanoke, VA (for job, YAY)

6. Roanoke, VA to Pearisburg, VA (divorce, BOO)

7. Pearisburg, VA to Roanoke, VA (remarriage, YAY)

8. Roanoke, VA to Daleville, VA (divorce, take 2, BOO)

9. Daleville, VA to Buena Vista, VA (back to finish college, finished, YAY)

10. Buena Vista, VA to Lexington, VA (apt. to house, YAY)

11. Lexington, VA to Summerville, SC (job for Paul, YAY!)

So this will be 12 moves in 13 years. Frankly, I am dreading it. We still haven't found a place that meets our requirements. We need a fenced-in yard and we need it to be in Ellie's middle school boundaries...that's easy, but not on our budget! :(

The friends who started it are taking Walter for the next month so we can finish out our lease. I guess they are actual angels-in-disguise. No one can stand disappointing a little girl!!

Just don't talk to me for the next 2 months. I will be grumpy. I hate moving.

This dog better be the coolest pet ever. :)

Monthiversaries

So today marked one month since I started working again...and also one month since Ellie started middle school. We are both a lot busier and thus, a lot happier! I love working, if only for the sense of security it brings.

Today was a sad one at work. My employer keeps 2 German Shepherd attack dogs in the yard (I am working in the office for a landscape and lawn-care company right now) and today one of them was hit by one of our trucks. I witnessed the last breath before she died. The saddest thing was how the remaining dog cried and moped around afterwards!

It reminded me of how things can change in the twinkling of an eye! I am so grateful for a knowledge that we will all be reunited after this life. I can't imagine not having the comfort that brings me.

This month I started a new visiting teaching route. For you not familiar, this is how the women of my church keep tabs on one another by making monthly visits to a handful of other women in our congregation. The purpose is to fellowship, teach, and serve one another. So far I have visited 4 different sisters. The fascinating thing is how different everyone is from each other. I love getting to know new people and hearing about their experiences. It's like being in someone's real-life blog!! ha ha ha...that's a little joke.

Anyway, I am about 98% sure that I haven't contributed much to their lives (yet), but I think it's made a huge difference in mine. Haven't you ever noticed how much better life feels when you are thinking of someone else for a change? It's the only thing powerful enough to bring me out of the dulldrums!

I have also been interviewing for a job at a small college here in Charleston for the last several weeks and was told yesterday that I was selected for the position...now I am just waiting for them to get approval from the head honchos and I will be switching back into a university setting. I miss interacting with college students so I am excited!

Ellie got a new flute yesterday. She is taking both Chorus and Band at the middle school, but no PE...I thought that was bizarre, but I guess the PE classes were filled up when we registered her. She loves her music and science classes the most.

It is still hot as blazes every day here in Charleston, but the mornings are starting to cool off and I never thought I could appreciate sweater weather so much as I do this year!

Sorry about this post...with my camera broken, it looks like I will be back to weird ramblings for a while!!

Change is good...except when it's terrifying!

So if I am being completely honest with myself, I am terrified of this move. I don't mean to sound completely po-dunk, but I have never lived further than 2 hours away from my hometown...EVER!! Not only that, but I have always lived within 5 minutes of I-81. Whatever will I do with no soothing interstate noise to lull me to sleep at night?! And I don't think I have mentioned this before, but MY PARENTS ARE MOVING TOO!! They are going to Tennessee...a completely different state...for those of you who may be even less geographically inclined than me (and I hope, for your sake, that you are not). My little sister, Sam, who has been sharing a house with me for the past year is getting married in only 6 short weeks and she will be moving away too.
All these changes have really got me thinking about life and the meaning of things. Of course, I almost never STOP thinking about the meaning of things, but now my pontificating is slightly more focused. slightly. And what I have concluded is thus...(drum roll, please)...Change is the ESSENCE of life. It is the thing by which I measure time..."Well, after my 2nd divorce, I moved to Daleville", or "When I started dating Paul, I put on 10lbs", etc. It is the thing by which we GROW...Really, I don't need to give you an example of this...it's the ONLY sure thing to shake us out of old habits and motivate us to improve (and sometimes regress, if we fight it). So I am going to stop fearing the change and just embrace it. Maybe I will lose those 10 lbs...